Clothes wringer



Dec. 13, 1927.

' L.. CAMETO CLOTHES WRINGER Filed Deo. 2.5,. 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet lINVEN TOR BY M ATTORNEY Patented VDec. 13, 1927.

UNITED STATESPATEN'T oFF-ICE.

LEON CAMETO, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA,

ASSIGNOR TO MODERN FOUNDRY AND PATTERN WORKS, OE OAKLAND,CALIFORNIA, ACORPORATION OF CALIFORNIA.

CLOTHES WRINGEB;

i vbetween the rollers and, in his efforts to vlo'free himself, hestrikes the roller release "meanslof the wringer, should it have any,the rollers will separate apart only a'short distance and will continueto drawl the iinv Y gers therebetween' so that the wholehand and "115evena part ofthe arm may follow before the wringer is stopped. Then,before the 'person can be released from the wringer, the drive mechanismmust be reversed so that the parts already pinched will be again sub.

zoi'ected to the torture, but with diminishing pressure.l

Also, in order to separate the rollers from each other in wringers ofthis kind, it has heretofore been necessary to relieve the pressure onthe upper roller, as otherwise, when the rollers are suddenly releasedfrom each other, loose parts are liable to be violently ejected from thewringer frame by the spring reaction, so that serious injury may oftenbe occasioned when the wringer is left to the care of an inexperiencedperson.

The principal-object of this invention is to provide a clothes wringerin which the rollers are contained in separate housings adapted to beclamped together as a unit and so arranged that they can beinstantaneously and completely separated from each other, and thusprevent any further injury toa persons fingers or hand that haveaccidentally been caught between the rollers during the operation of thewringer. v

Another object of the invention is to arrange the driving and the drivengears of the rollers at the end opposite to the wringers connection withthe drive mechanism so 1 that when the housings are released by the jsafety-incans, the upper roller will be immediately released from itsgear connection 'f-ji'with the lower roller that carries the drive gear.

f f A further object of the invention is to retain in its housing, whenthe housings are separated, the roller having the spring tension thereonwithout necessitating releasing the operation of Wringers of-Applicationniea :December 2a, 192s. serial No. l77,331'.

the applied tension on the roller as heretofore done. i

A still furtherobjectof the invention is to provide the demountablesection of the wringer with stop means so that, when it becomesnecessary to o erate the safety release, the reaction ofjt e suddenrelease of 'the stressed wringer will be absolutely nil, in contrast tothe violent movement and ejection of parts of 4other Wringers as here-vtofore have been known.

A still further object is to provide that not only shall the upperhousing and its roller be entirely removable as a unit as the idealsafety feature, but that the lower roller shallalso be entirelyremovable from its housing for accessibility, inspection, repair andcleaning purposes.

In addition .tothe above broader features of the invention, there arecertain details of design, whereby compactness, durability of structure,and positiveness and ease of operation are attained, and which detailsare shown on lthe accompan ing `three sheets of drawings illustrating te present embodiment of my invention, and what I claim as new, isparticularly pointedout in the appended lc aims :following thisspecification.

Referring'tothe drawings:

Figure 1 is a :plan of my improved clothes wringer. y y

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of it and shown attached to v a washing.machine wringer mechanism, the latter being partly in section Also,part of the'wringer is shown in section to show the normal ositio'nofthe wringerrolls and the drive t erefor.

Fig. 3 is 'a central. transverse section of the wringer. c 1

Fig. `4 is a centrallongitudinal section through the housing tov showthe rolls in service, and in particular` the relation between theupperprollv` spaced from the stop pins and tensioned against `thespring.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fi L but showing that the safety handle haseen released, and that the compression'of the clothes immediately haslreacted and caused the upper half of the wringer to assume the at-restor `no-pressure position shown; the' roller hubs resting on the. stoppins again by the reaction of the spring.

Fig. 6 is an outline view primarily to show that the upper housingincluding-its roll aluminum alloy.

can be quickly and easily detached from the lower housing.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view, and partly 1n section, of the couplin end.of t slower housing with that of t e wringer drive of Fig. 2. It is hereshown-that the lower roll, by tilting, can be easily withdrawn from itsdrive member.

Fig. 8 is a transverse section line 8--8 of Fig. 7 g and t thebottom'housing,

along the Fig. 9 isa plan of n and in dotted lines isthe tiltable drainboard.

In the drawings the wringer of my invention is indicated as a whole bythe numeral 10. This wringer 10 comprises an uplper housinf` 11 and alower housing 12, bot which ousings preferably are made of an The u perhousing has thereon at one end a hoo -shaped hinge '13 F1 s. 4 and 5,which is adapted to 'hook under a pin 14 driven through openings 1n ears15on the innerside of a flange 16 at one end of the lower housing 12.lHooks 17, integral with the casing 18 of a wringerdrive mechanism 19Fig. 2, of a washingmachine, not shown, and bolt and nut means 20 servethe purpose as a means of securely holdingmy wringer to awashingmachine.

At the end opposite to the hook-shaped hinge 13 the upperhousing l1 hasintegral therewith a lug in the form of a hook 2l Fig. 5, and the lowerhousing 12 has integral therewith a projection 22, in which is pivot-.all secured, as indicated at 23, the `inner en s of two links 24. Theouter ends of the links are in their turn pivotally secured, asindicated at'25, to a clamping member 26 provided with a curved handle27 and with a tongue portion 28 adapted to engage with the hook 21 forholding the housings 11 and 12 locked together as a unit when the Vhinge13 also engages in Fi 1, 2 and 4.V j In Figs. 2 and 4 it is also ownthat the handle 27 extends above the upper housino' 11, and is within aconvenient reach of the hands of an operator, so that in emergency anoutward push on the handle would release the engagement of the tongueportion 28 with the hook 21 and render the upper housing 11 instantlyremovable from the lower housing 12.

In roller bearings 29 Fig. 4, which are slidably secured in guides 30Fig. 9 integral with the lower housing 12. is mounted a shaft 32, uponwhich is secured a roller 33, hetween the bearings, and the shaft 32extends outside of the iiange 16 and is adapted to enter into the boredhub 34 Fig. 7, of the wringer-drive gear 35. 'The shaft has a pin 36driven therethrough to engage the side walls of a recess 37 in the hub,so that the drive mechanism 19 can thereby communicate motion to theshaft-32 and the roller 33 secured thereto. At its outer end, relativeto the pin 14, as is best shownthe drive mechanism 19, the shaft 32 hassecured thereto a double drive-gear 38.

In roller bearings 39 which are slidably secured in guides 40 integralwith the up er housing 11 is mounted a shaft 42, which as `securedJthereupon between the bearings a roller 43 and at its louter end,relative .to the drive mechanism 19,' a double gear 44 adapted to bedriven by the ar 38 when the housings 11 and 12 are e am ed to ether, asis best shown in Figs. 2 an 4. T e guides 30 in the lower housing servethe purpose of holding the bearings 29 in such a position on the shaft82 that only a slight end playof the shaft is allowed in order to`assure a free an easy running of the shaft in thelower housing, and theguides 40 serve a similar purpose for the shaft 42 in the-upper housin yand are further so arranged that the gears 8 and 44 mesh perfectly whenthe housings are united.

A stii flat spring 45 is mounted in the upper housing and is adapted,adjacent to its ends.. to press upon blocks 46, which are provided withgrooved ends for engagement with the grooved guides, and the spring maybe provided with downward turned ends as a means for preventing thespring from sliding out of engagement with the blocks. A member 47 Fig.3, embracing the spring 45 approximately at the midway portion thereofso as to be ixed thereto, is at its top preferably provided with aconical openlng 48 for receiving therein the truste-conicallend dBO of atension-regulating screw 49, which has i thereon at its u per end a handwheel -50 for facilitating ltsturning and extends in screw-threadedengagement through a boss 51 on a plate 52, and the bossextends throughan opening in the top of the upper housing while the plate is secured tothe inside of the housing by screws 53 or by any other suitable means,so that the screw 49, when engaging the opening in the member 47 willthus hold the spring 45 in a virtually central relation over the roller43 both longitudinally and transversely in the upper housing.

Under the shaft 42 and near one end thereof the housing 11 has therein apin 54, which is driven through the side walls of the housing andbridges the opening of the housing. and under the shaft at its oppositeend another pin 55 is similarly driven through the side walls of thehousing so as to bridge the opening of the housing between the gear 44and the roller bearing 39 beside it, so that the pins 54 and 55 thusretain the shaft 42 with its roller 43 in the housing against thetension of the s rings 45 when the housings 11 and 12 are re easedfromeach other at one end, as shown in Fig. 5, or even when they areentirely free from each other at both ends.V

The wringer 10 has on each side of the lower housing a clothes board 56provided on its upper side and at each of its ends'with a rib 57, andthe clothes lboard is spaced at its inner edges 58 from the roller 33,as shown in Figs. 3 and 9, so that, when the wringer is in use, thewater wrung out of the washed articles williiow down between the rollerand the clothes beard and will not be liablev to follow them to theouter edge lof the v clothes board.

Under the lower housing is a drain board i sothat the water flowing downthrough the spaces between the linner ridges 58 of the` clothes` boardsand the" roller 33 will be caused to runback into the washing,maj,-chine to which the wringerdrive mechanism 19 -is attach-ed, or to runvdown into; any ,j

other receptacle,.according to the position'l upon which the wrmger isswung upon the vertical shaft of the wringer-drive mecha#V nism andaccording to how -the drain board is tilted. In operation, when thewringer 10 has been connected^with the drive mechanism 19 of a washingmachine, and when the housings 11 and 12 have been clamped `together andthe tension of the spring upon the blocks 46 has been adjusted by thescrew 49, a washed article 63, passing from. one of'the clothes boards56, will be drawn between the rollers 33 and 43 and will cause theroller 43' to rise against the tension of the spring, as shown in Fig. 4so-that the water will be squeezed out of th as before explained,through the spaces between the lower roller 33 and the inner edges 58 ofthe clothes boardsgdown onto the drain board 59.

If during thev wringer 1 operation the operator accidently should getthe lingers of one hand caught between the rollers, the operator caninstantly extricate himself with his other handfrom his redicament bypushing the releasing han le 2.7. lin fact, the handle of the safetyclamp is in v such a position that impulsively the operators hand isnaturally guided to follow the top of the housing 11 to the handle, sovthat the release of the clamping device isv almost automatic. When thesafety clamp has thus been released the expansion :of the compressedarticle 63, or hand, will cause the outer end of the housingll tov beraised out of contact with the lower housing, as shown in Fig. 5, thusdisengaging also the gear 44 from the gear 38 so thatno power is appliedto the upper roller 43 and therefore the hitherto compressed articleforimmountings.

e article and will flow,-

Isvrisoned hand readily can be lwithdrawn.

imultaneously with the reaction of the compressed article the tension ofthe spring.

45 will'react and force. the roller shaft 42 toward the stop pins 54 and55, thus dissipating the reactive force so that its effect is nil andaccomplishing it in the time interval vthat it'takes the upper roller totravel a downward distance equal to the distance between the pins andthe shaft I n order to resume the operation of the wrm'ger, it is onlynecessary to reclamp the upperv housing to the lower housingby means ofthe clamping device, as has been screw 49 has notV been changedI-y. f

explained, and without readjusting the ten sionv of the spring 45, sincetheltension will vremain the same `as before the housings y. y wereseparated, if the adji'istment vofftiie f1 v v `As shown in Fig.- 2, thepins 54 and'55` are so located` that the upperv roller-fis lpressed uponthe-lower roller when'n"are-v ticle is between the rollers .andwhen.'tlief '-L housings are clamped together. In this 'in`- stance, thelinks 24are swung past the per-y endicular engagement suflicientforproducing an initial pressure l'duetto*theiresiliency .Qf the rollersbefore the upper roller 43 on its shaft 42 'is moved upward from itsat-rest posi toward the upper` housing. v hus, it is obvious that`when`the housings i arefclamped together, the rollers in pressure tion on thepinsV 54and 55 by other than thinV articles passed between thefrollers.

This-initial pressure is sufhcient to.` allow an article, such as ahandkerchief, toy becarried between the` rollers and thereby have thewater squeezed therefrom without the upper roller moving from itsat-rest position, so that therefore the wringer is always available forthinas well asV thick articles.

It should be observed that, when the clamping engagement of the housingsis quickly released and the upper housing in consequence will springupward, as shown in Flg. 5, no injury can follow from such upwardspringing movement, since the parts in the upper housing are retainedtherewithin by the pins 54 and 55. The housings, of-

course, when it is so desired, may be entirely unhooked from each other,as shown in Fig.

6, and, when the'housings are out of engagement with eachother,the-roller 33 may be removed from the low'erhousing simply by firstliftin the geared end of the roller shaft 32 above t e top of thehousing. The shaft with the roller thus tilted, as shown in Fig. 7 maythen easily be withdrawn from engagement with the wringer-drivemechanism 19 and subsequently lifted out of the housing 12'. When thehousing 12 is not connected with a wringer-drive mechanism, the roller33 may be lifted directly out of the housing without tilting. The easyremoval of the roller in 'either case facilitates the cleanin of thehousing as well as the drain boardt ereunder.l

i From the foregoing description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, the advantages ofthe construction and method ofoperation will be readilT understood by those skilled in the art towhich the inventionV appertains, and-while I have described theprinciple of operation, together with the device which I now consider tobe the best embodiment thereof, I -desire to have it understood that thedevice shown is merely V illustrative and that such chan es 1na7 bemade, when desired, as all within-the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new 4and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the 'United States, is the following:

1. A clothes wringer comprising an upper and a. lower housing, a rollersecured to 'a upper housing shaft rotatably mounted in each housing, thebeing hooked to the lower housing at one end thereof so that the upperhousing can swing in the plane of the roller shafts and also be entirelyremoved lfrom the lower housing, a hook member upon the 4other end ofthe upper housing opposite te the end where the upper housing is hinged,a linked clamping member carried by the lower housing in juxta-positionto said hook, a cam member upon said clampingmember rename adapted toconnect with said hook in order to normally 'clamp the upper and lowerho'us ings together and means whereb said roll ers may be operatedinunison w en in normal position.

42. A clothes wringer com rising an upper and a lower housing, a ro lersecured to a shaft rotatably mounted in each housin the upper housingbeing hooked to the ower housing at one end thereof so that the upperhousing can swing in the plane ofthe roller shafts and also be 1entirelyremoved from the lower housing, a hook member upon the other end of theupper housing opposite to the end where the upper housing is hinged, alinked clampingmember carried b the lower housing in junta-position tosaid ook, a cam' member upon said clamping member adapted to connectwith said hook in order to normally clamp the upper and lower housingstogether, means whereb said rollers may be operated-in unison w en innormal' position, spring means inthe upper housing urging the rollertherein outwardly and fixed stop pins extending between the side wallsof the upper housing under the shaft o the roller therein adapted tolimit the downward movement of said roller so that when the e housingsare clamped together a slight ini- 4 tial pressure is produced ontherollers.

ln testimony whereof,1 aiix my signature.

` Leon Camaro.

